Fall and Winter Months Hard on Green River’s Water Lines

Fall and Winter Months Hard on Green River’s Water Lines

Green River Public Works repaired the water line in front of Sweetwater Trophies on December 28. Photo courtesy of Steve Core

GREEN RIVER — Declining fall and winter water usage in the City of Green River can be the main cause of water line breaks, like the one on Flaming Gorge Way the last week of the year. The city repaired the water line in front of Sweetwater Trophies on December 28.

Mark Westenskow, Director of Public Works, said rapid changes to water usage in the city, such as the end of irrigation season, can cause stress on aging water lines thus causing the leaks and or breaks to the lines. Within the water system, water takes the path of least resistance to get from where it is stored to where it can escape the system, normally through someone opening a faucet, he said.

Westenskow said during the summer, irrigation is constantly going throughout the city. The city uses roughly six million gallons per day in the summer, compared to one million gallons per day during the winter months. 

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“The summer allows water to flow freely, in the winter the system tightens up and does not have that relief and the water is more likely to find a weak spot in the system,” Westenskow said.

According to Westenskow, the fall is actually the worst time for water breaks because of the erratic water usage.

“Some customers are still irrigating and in the fall we end up seeing water hammer issues that can expose weak points in the system, and leaks can start small and may be unnoticeable for some time before a changed condition, like the freezing of the ground, makes the leak bad enough to notice,” he said.

Westenskow said the city has seen several winter water line breaks along Flaming Gorge Way, a state highway, over the last several years.He said the water main line on Flaming Gorge Way is a 4-inch cast iron line that has reached the end of its useful life. The size is inadequate for effective fire protection and the material is subject to corrosion, according to Westenskow.

“The ideal situation will be to do a comprehensive project through downtown that would upsize the water main to allow more flow for fire protection and rebuild the street and ADA facilities on top, Westenskow said.

The city has been working with the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) to identify the projected costs of such a project, but a potential funding source and timing remain uncertain.